Addlestone & Weybridge Town F.C.
Addlestone & Weybridge Town F.C. was a football club based in Addlestone, England. The home ground was in Liberty Lane. They changed their name from Addlestone FC to Addlestone & Weybridge Town FC in order to enlarge the catchment area, a move which didn't work very well, in 1980. They reached the quarter-finals of the FA Vase twice in their history and the first round of the FA Cup once, where they came back from 0–2 down at Brentford FC to force a 2–2 draw. They lost the replay 0–2. However in 1985, they stopped their footballing activities due to lack of money. The last match took place against Waterlooville FC at Liberty Lane on Saturday, 27 April 1985 The team played in an all red kit. Famous players include ex Chelsea, Sheff Utd and Scotland star Steve Finnieston, former Brentford captain Jackie Graham (who captained Addlestone in the games v Brentford) and Martin Francis, brother of England star, QPR and Tottenham Hotspurs manager Gerry Francis.
[edit] History
Addlestone FC was formed in April 1885 by Thomas Weeding and Frederick Darling, both of whom were local football enthusiasts and played their games at Crockford Park. In early 1892 the club was suspended by Surrey FA for spectator hooliganism! In season 1892/93 they club won the Surrey Village Competition. In 1895 the club had grown large enough to enter the North West Surrey League and with it entry into the Surrey Senior Cup where they were outclassed 9-0 by Weybridge FC. The best ever finish for the club in this league was third in season 1904/05. 1906 proved to be a pivotal year in the clubs existence. A mass walkout from the committee and an acute financial crisis almost ended the club then and it disbanded for a short period of time. They reformed for season 1908/09 and joined Division Two of the Surrey Junior League. After the First World War the club joined the Surrey Intermediate League and in 1922 they finished runners up to Chertsey and appeared in the Surrey Senior Cup final the year after. That success encouraged them to move into the Surrey Senior League in season 1924/25. For the first time the club entered the FA Amateur Cup only to lose to local rival Egham Town. They also entered the FA Cup for the first time winning against Weybridge FC in their first match 4-0 but losing the next one 6-1 to Thorneycrofts FC. A bottom of the table finish in 1931 forced the club to rejoin the Surrey Intermediate League.
At the end of World War Two the club once again joined the Surrey Senior League and in the early 1950s the club was offered the chance to buy the freehold to purchase an orchard in Liberty Lane. With the help of a loan from the FA they completed the deal and remained at the ground until the club folded in 1985. In 1954/55 the club entered the Parthenon League where a mid table finish was secured. The travelling proved too much for many players so the club went back to the Surrey Senior League for season 1956–57. In 1959–60 the team finished runners-up to Chertsey Town but the season after they went one better and won the title, this time with one point more than Croydon Amateurs and Chertsey Town as well as winning the Surrey Charity Cup. 1964/65 saw the club move up to the Spartan League with a respectable showing but the season after they just managed to avoid re-election and also suffered a humiliating 0-9 defeat to Woking FC in the FA Cup. 1969/70 saw the club finish runners up to Hampton but gain revenge on them by winning the League Cup in a dramatic final played at Egham. 1971/71 saw the club move further up the ladder into the Athenian League and promotion was won three years later. The same season saw them also beat Woking FC in the final of the Southern Combination Cup. The club finished third in the first season in the higher division and retained the Southern Combination Cup with a 2-1 victory over Egham Town FC. The club also reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Vase for the second season in a row, a feat never to be repeated. In 1977 the club was refused entry into the enlarging Isthmian League and so joined the Southern League for season 1977/78. A few seasons of mid season mediocrity saw, in season 1980/81 a new management team put in place and also a change of name from Addlestone FC to Addlestone & Weybridge Town FC. The first round proper of the FA Cup was reached. Despite being drawn at home the club decided to switch their tie with Brentford FC to Griffin Park and a 2-2 draw seemed to justify the switch. However the League side ran out 2-0 winners in the subsequent replay. The following season the club reached the fourth qualifying round and finished 9th in the league, high enough to see them included into the newly formed Southern League Premier Division. They finished bottom of the division that season but finish a creditable fifth in the Southern Division the season after. The sale of the ground, Liberty Lane led to a mid season crisis within the club and the decision was taken to end its association with the town of Addlestone and move to pastures new. In typical Addlestone & Weybridge Town FC fashion they reached the final of the Surrey Senior Cup for the first time losing 0-2 to Sutton United after extra time.
Condensed from the official match programme for the last ever AWTFC game - Sat 27 April 1985 Phil Knowler - fan of Addlestone & Weybridge Town 1979 - 1985
[edit] External links
- Addlestone & Weybridge Town at the Football Club History Database
